Bold
by Mierinn
Summary: The first time Rose Weasley ever talked to him, he was sitting in a compartment by himself. Her opening words were: "What's so great about you, Malfoy, anyway?"
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** I don't know where this is going. Probably nowhere. I might add up other random Scorpius/Rose stuff in the future, depending on whether you like this or not. Won't make any promises, though!

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**1.**

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The first time Rose Weasley ever talked to him, he was sitting in a compartment by himself.

His mates had seemingly vanished into thin air ever since the train had started its engines. He was tired and didn't really feel like doing much of anything.

Quidditch practices were probably going to be obscenely early in the morning once he got to Hogwarts, as per usual, so he figured the best he could do was doze off for a few hours, until his mates decided they'd had their fair share of pranking people and picking up girls.

Normally, he'd be inclined to join in, but that day he just felt_ lazy_. He'd have a whole year to do all that anyway, so missing out on one day was hardly important.

But this was about the first time Rose Weasley ever truly talked to Scorpius Malfoy.

It wasn't the first time they_ spoke_; obviously that had happened before, seeing they had always been in the same year and shared a few classes together.

An actual conversation between them that didn't involve potion ingredients or some other variation of school work prior to this, though? There was none whatsoever.

It was on their trip to Hogwarts and they were going to begin their sixth year.

As Scorpius was happily occupying more than his fair share of the compartment space, so he'd be comfortable enough to sleep, the door slid open swiftly and rather harshly, startling him into opening his eyes.

He was faced with Rose Weasley, already in her Hogwarts robes, with a Prefect badge hanging from her pressed clothing.

It was the way she stood there, though, that somehow made it alarming. Rose was halfway in, halfway out of the compartment, her hand still on the door and an annoyed look plastered across her face.

Her opening words were: "What's so great about you, Malfoy, anyway?" No kidding.

Scorpius jolted upright. "Sorry?" he frowned, feeling confused.

"I asked," she repeated slowly, emotion replaced with a cold look. "What's so _damn_ great about you, anyway?"

"My, my, for someone so posh, you sure have a mouth on you, Weasley," he looked amused. Rose decided to ignore his retort.

"Excuse me, but I've been on this train for four sodding hours and half that time has been spent hearing my dim-witted dormmates talking about _you_, so I decided to ask, since I had to come look for you anyway," she wrinkled her nose.

Scorpius, a boy well-aware of the fact that he drew quite the bit of female attention - even though he didn't, to his credit, take that much advantage of it - smirked at her statement.

"I could show you," he gave her a meaningful look after roaming his eyes over her, half expecting her to blush or turn away. Something cliché like that.

Except she didn't. "Could you now?" Rose looked at him a little disbelievingly, then closed the door behind her and stood with her back to it. "Then by all means do."

Scorpius's eyes widened slightly with shock. Despite his usual nonchalance and debonair attitude, he found himself a bit tongue-tied; Rose's face was actually serious and she looked as though she was waiting for him to do something.

"S-seriously?" he asked, trying to school his features into their normal disinterested look, but failing epically.

He had to be dreaming, he thought. Because_ a)_ girls weren't usually that bold and _b) _even if Rose had been avoiding him like the plague all their academic life and only vaguely acknowledged his existence, he was acutely conscious of _hers_.

Rose was beautiful. Slim figure, dark brown hair with hints of red in it and intelligent brown eyes that sort of drew you in. She had high cheekbones and a decently full set of lips, with a petite nose.

A guy would have to be blind not to notice her. At least, that's what Scorpius thought.

If he was honest about it, Scorpius would be more than eager to show her how great he was, if she really wanted him to.

"Well?" she leaned heavier against the door and lifted an eyebrow at him, as if challenging him.

Merlin, was he enthralled.

Scorpius got up, moving to close the gap between them. He was 6'1'' tall and towered over her rather easily, since she was only 5'4''.

He leaned his head down and she leaned hers back. Scorpius smirked again, putting his hand on the wall beside her head.

"Malfoy?" Rose whispered seductively, when his face was little more than two inches away from hers. She played with the collar of his shirt.

"Yes?" Scorpius asked, using the break to grab a strand of hair falling into her eyes and tuck it behind her ear.

She smiled sweetly. A wide, seemingly genuine smile that lit up her eyes and was quite the spectacle to see from up close.

"Did you honestly think I'd let a perfect stranger kiss me?" she shoved him off hard rolling her eyes, her smile gone. Scorpius had been completely unprepared for her antics, so naturally he fell backwards into an awkward sitting position on the bench.

"I'm not a stranger, we've known each other since we were eleven!" he argued defensively, frowning at her.

"Flawed logic. We've been _aware_ of each other since we were eleven. But you don't know me and I don't know you," Rose stated matter-of-factly.

"Well, that's not so much my fault, as it is yours, isn't it?" Scorpius asked, a rare sincere tone to his voice.

"Maybe," Rose replied after a few seconds of apparently losing herself in thought.

Whatever she was contemplating, the way she was biting her lip made him regret not having gone straight to kiss her, before she'd had the chance to make that smart little comment of hers.

"Have a hard time admitting to the truth, do you?" Scorpius teased with a smirk.

"Maybe," Rose repeated, a lopsided smile on her lips as she focused her attention back to him.

"So... If you really _don't_ want me to show you what's so special about me, why did you come by at all?" it was his turn to raise an eyebrow.

"You do know you're also a Prefect, don't you? We have a meeting. Dennis Wood - Head boy, in case you're wondering - told me to come get you and Ravenclaw's Janine Ridgewater, since you're both missing it" Rose pursed her lips, obviously not that happy about it.

"Why did he ask you to, though? Serena could've come to get me, she's the Slytherin girl Prefect after all," Scorpius reasoned.

Rose sighed. "Good point. Thing is I always sit closest to the door, to get out of meetings as fast as I humanly can, you know? But it sort of back-fired this time around. It turns out people nearest to the exit in a cramped room make for the best tracking-other-Prefects-down forced volunteers."

He laughed. "To be honest I had completely forgotten about the meeting. I was quite peacefully sleeping before you stormed in. Well, at least until you got all sexy and woke me all up," he smirked, eyeing her intensely.

Rose's response was to roll her eyes yet again. It amused him that she didn't show any sign of embarrassment. "Oh, get over it, will you? I was just mocking you."

"You're such a tease, Weasley," Scorpius got up and moved towards her. This time it made her jump back a little and she frowned.

"What are you doing?" Rose hissed, apparently a little intimidated by having his lean tall figure so close to hers.

He motioned innocently towards the door, shifting his course at the last minute. "Getting to that meeting, of course."

"Oh no, you aren't! Go get Ridgewater. I'm going back. It took me like 40 minutes to find you and Wood will be pissed if I'm gone much longer. You, on the other hand, are going to hear him rant anyway, so you might as well spare me from it," she smiled another bright smile, showing her nearly perfect white teeth.

Scorpius noticed one of her front teeth was a little crooked, but in a way that was barely noticeable and made her smile unique.

Rose quickly slid past him out the door, heading towards the front of the train, where the Prefects' compartment was located.

"Weasley, you can't just walk away from me! I'm not picking Janine up, she's not even my type," he called after her once he was in the corridor.

Rose half-turned to raise an eyebrow at him. "And that concerns me because?"

Scorpius leaned against the wall. "We could always skip the meeting of the dork lords and get to know each other. You know, so we won't be strangers anymore," his innocent look wasn't fooling anybody; his smile was full of double intentions.

"Sod off, Malfoy!" Rose resumed walking.

"Okay, carry on then. I'm just going to watch the pretty sway of your hips from here," he added, in an attempt to baffle her.

Rose walked back to him. When Scorpius noticed the mischief in her eyes and the fact that she didn't even look mad, his face fell a little, because he didn't know what to expect.

"You know, Malfoy, I've just figured what's so great about you," there it was. That seductive voice and the look in her eye, both of which made him want to ravish her. Scorpius moved closer.

"And what is that?" he was genuinely curious.

"Your height. Because your brains surely mustn't do much work in there, despite how you're the third best student in our year," her tone was flat and she looked downright bored. It was fantastic how quickly she could swing between expressions.

Scorpius didn't miss a beat. "Aware of my ranking _and_ complimenting my height? I'm touched, Weasley, didn't know you were so fond of me," he smirked.

Rose chuckled, shaking her head with disbelief. "You have a comeback for all of my implied insults, without resorting to insulting me back, huh?"

"I'm a gentleman," he affirmed smugly.

"You know what, Malfoy?" she asked suddenly.

Scorpius obliged her. "Pray tell, my lady."

"I think I like you," she smiled again. The more she did, the more he wondered why he kept noticing how gorgeous her smile was.

"Likewise. Except I'm rather sure that I do," he lowered his voice as though he was revealing a big secret.

Rose's smile spread wider, igniting a genuine grin in Scorpius.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** So, first things first: I don't think this story will have a traditional timeline. What I mean by that is that the chapters will not necessarily follow right from where the previous one left. In this case, these particular events would be around a month after they arrived at Hogwarts, while not seeing much of each other in the meantime.

I think anything fast-paced wouldn't really make sense in the way I see things for them and I thought it'd be more interesting to see how Scorpius and Rose got to know each other in this way. But I digress... Sorry if it doesn't quite fulfill your expectations for chapter two, but like I said, I didn't want them to be all up in each other after years of barely even interacting, because it feels unnatural to me.

Thank you so much to anyone who favorited, followed and to the people who were nice enough to give me feedback! Reviews are always welcome, as is constructive criticism. A penny for your thoughts?

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****2.****

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"Malfoy! You startled me," Rose turned to face him, squinting her eyes and looking through the gaps between her fingers, as Scorpius pointed his lit wand at her face.

A noise akin to hoofs trotting away hung in the air, but he was barely able to discern it over the sound of his accelerated heartbeat.

"I startled you? You were speaking to a damn centaur and _I_ startled you?" Scorpius was positive Rose was bonkers. Beautiful and terribly smart, but bonkers all the same.

"Oh, shut up, it's not such a big deal. What are you doing here, anyway?" she asked, as she lit up her own wand and started moving towards him.

"Don't try to divert my attention. Why exactly areyou out here by yourself? The Forbidden Forest is mostly off limits for a reason. Not to mention it's dangerous, especially on your own and after dark," Scorpius frowned at her nonchalant shrug and followed Rose on her way back to the edge of the forest that led to Hogwarts.

"It might have been in the days of our parents, but it's much safer now. At least on this part of the woods. I think they just like to keep up the mystery," she made a dismissive gesture with her hand.

"Safe is probably not the best word to describe a creepy forest after dusk, which has nightmare-ish beasts and Merlin knows what else living in it," Scorpius said flatly.

Rose shrugged again. He was upset with her seeming lack of good judgement when it came to her own safety.

"Damn Gryffindors and their poorly placed bravery," Scorpius muttered darkly.

"What did you say?" she asked, stopping just as they were but a couple of strides from exiting the woods.

"Nothing. Just that you should be more careful," Scorpius said in a serious unabashed tone, the lie easily rolling off his tongue without guilt.

Rose searched his face and found that he was upset, though she could not make sense of it. She sighed and spoke after a moment. "Look, I was here as a favor to Ms. Windmere, okay? No one is supposed to know."

"The Infirmary nurse?" he frowned, confused. "And that's rich, coming from the girl who a few weeks back rubbed it in my face I had duties and responsibilities as a Prefect," at this he smirked a little.

"Ha! Well played," she smiled, not bothered by his teasing tone. "Yes, the nurse."

When she didn't add any sort of explanation, he pressed on. "Why would she ask a student, of all people, to come to the woods at night? And that still doesn't explain the centaur!"

"I cannot tell you, Malfoy," Rose walked out of the forest, making her way towards the castle.

"Oi, you can't just walk away like that!" he sped after her. Naturally, even though Rose quickened her pace, he caught up with her easily. Scorpius put himself in front of her. "I have to handle detention with a couple of second year Slytherins, along with Professor Bergstein and Serena. I have both a reason _and_ permission to be here! You, so far, have not given me a sound explanation."

"Look, it's none of your business, it's Ms. Windmere's. Would you just let it go?" Rose raised her arms in the air.

"You didn't say please," Scorpius almost laughed at her infuriated expression.

Rose sighed, looking annoyed. "Plea-?" She didn't get to finish her sentence.

"Ah ah ah. It's too late for that now. You better tell me or else I might have to report you," his smug expression was met with a sly smile.

"After the War, the nasty things that once dwelled here have all but recoiled to deep dark holes beyond the heart of the forest, if they remain at all. This place is, of course, still not for people to take strolls in, but it is fairly harmless if you don't linger for long. Since the Treaty of 2001, centaurs have been allies of the school and they assist the staff occasionally and vice-versa. So there, everything is fine and dandy, Malfoy," her smile was a bit unnerving, considering she hadn't even seemed troubled with the prospect of a lecture from one of the Professors.

"Okay, that does explain the centaur, somewhat, but it still doesn't give me a reason not to deduct points from Gryffindor," he added, as if trying to make her react somehow.

"The centaur's name is Tidolus Pesates. Good luck with deducting points out of someone you can't see," it was her turn to look smug, as she vanished into thin air in a matter of a few seconds.

"What? Weasley, get back here!" he whipped his head in every direction he could and turned around, but no sign of Rose was visible. "Weasley! Come back!" when no reply came, he shouted: "I hadn't even extorted a date to Hogsmeade out of you yet!"

Scorpius could have sworn he heard her laugh from afar.

"Mr Malfoy, is something the matter?" he turned to find the Slytherin second years and Professor Bergstein giving him weird looks.

They looked positively about to ship him off to Saint Mungus, so he reasoned telling them he was shouting after a girl who had vanished into thin air was probably not the best of ideas.

Even for wizards, considering Apparition was impossible on Hogwarts' grounds due to its powerful wards, that would seem rather unlikely.

It was only after weeks of research that he found out about Invisibility Cloaks. Scorpius banged his head against his desk then, thinking himself an idiot.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** I noticed recently that I forgot the classic disclaimer, so here: I own nothing but my plot bunnies, everything you recognize is J. K. Rowling's. Yadda yadda.

I'd like to know what your thoughts are for this chapter! So when you're done reading (if you get through it, that is), I promise the review box doesn't bite and I'd really appreciate the feedback.

Thank you so much, again, to anyone who left a review or favorited/followed. You're awesome!

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**3.**

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"Come to Hogsmeade with me," Scorpius was walking alongside Rose, after a shared Charms class. They were heading to yet another Prefect meeting.

Rose snorted. "Why?"

"Because I'd like you to," he answered honestly.

"Why?" she repeated, looking ahead and carrying her books tight against her chest. There was a hint of a smile on the corner of her lips.

"You said we were strangers. That day in September on the train, remember? I want that to change," Scorpius kept his eyes trained on her as they drifted through the hallways.

"Why?" this time the smile grew to a full one, even though she still wouldn't face him. Rose knew she was annoying him and enjoying every bit of it.

"For a girl with an above average IQ and magical skills, your vocabulary seems a bit short at the moment," he taunted her.

They paused as they reached the moving stairs. She looked at Scorpius then. "You've seemed perfectly fine with taking other girls to Hogsmeade and not fraternizing much with me for the past few years. I'm just wondering why the sudden interest," she cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Oh, there'd be nothing 'fraternal' about it. As I understand, you've already got a brother, so that's not the role I'd be interested in playing," he gave her a smug smile. "And it wasn't sudden."

Rose laughed. "You mean to say you fancy me since the train ride, then?"

"No. I can't pinpoint exactly when, but I'd noticed you before," they were climbing the stairs to the fifth floor, where a sort of common room for Prefects was located, opposite Head Boy and Girl Headquarters. "We'd just never really talked before that and you've been on my mind more since then," he ran a hand over his hair, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"I heard gossip about you going out with Rachel McCormac just last week, so your story doesn't really add up," she squinted her eyes slightly at him, as if daring him to deny it.

Scorpius didn't even flinch before replying. "You didn't let me ask you after our little meet and greet in the Forbidden Forest and avoided me rather successfully the following weeks," Rose shifted her books in her arms and awkwardly drew her gaze away. "You see what you've reduced me to? Taking out girls who can't even engage in stimulating conversation!"

"Oh, so that's what you were after with Rachel; stimulating conversation?" Rose raised her eyebrows, disbelieving him, but giving him credit for his nonchalance.

"How shallow do you think I am? There has to be more to a girl than just her pretty snoggable face," Scorpius mocked offense, putting a hand to his chest.

"'Snoggable' isn't a word," she remarked, not commenting any further.

"See? Dating bimbos for so long is affecting my intellectual faculties. You need to save me!" Scorpius added dramatically.

"I doubt I could," Rose's tone was dry.

"Where's your Gryffindor spirit, woman? I thought saving people and the world was the whole point of your House!" he put in.

"I personally wouldn't make it a quest to solve that particular issue of yours. I have enough on my plate as it is," she answered firmly. Then Rose smiled sweetly, which by now made him realize she was about to say or do something unpleasant. "Plus, I've a bit more wits about me than the average teenage girl-"

"The absence of false modesty is indeed refreshing," he interrupted.

"-and I recognize a lame pick up strategy when I see one," Rose finished, not the slightest bit nonplussed.

"Well, now you've just hurt my feelings," and despite the mocking tone, she saw a glimpse of genuine disappointment in his eyes, that gave her a pang in the chest for some reason.

Rose sighed and stopped walking, lagging behind for a bit. Scorpius had not been expecting her midstride pause and walked a few paces ahead, before turning back to her.

"Look, even if you were serious about the whole thing, I've just been really busy lately," she explained. "I've been taking extra classes and I've been allowed an apprenticeship of sorts in the Infirmary. It's an amazing opportunity for my future career as a Healer. I don't have the time or attention span for dating!" Rose was going to start walking again, but Scorpius put his hand on her arm to prevent her.

The serious look on his face startled her, as it was unsual on his ever mischievous countenance.

"I promise you, I meant it. I want to get to know you," Rose gulped at the intense way he was holding her gaze. "Come to Hogsmeade with me," he repeated his earlier sentence.

Rose was silent for so long, Scorpius wondered if she was even going to say anything back.

"Fine. You want to get to know me, right?" she asked.

"Yes," he tried to suppress the excitement in his voice.

"Well, we're not going to Hogsmeade," Rose stated.

"What? But I thought you just said-" he argued indignantly.

_Yeah, Scorpius. Real smooth, _he thought.

She grinned, amused at his eagerness, before it was her turn to interrupt him. "I said 'fine'. I _didn't _say I wanted to go to Hogsmeade," she rolled her eyes before continuing. "Every date I've ever been on has been to Hogsmeade. I could safely bet it's where all of yours have been too. It's boring," Rose paused. "If you can find some way to surprise me and do something else that is fun, then you can get to know me. But not before that and not necessarily in a date way," there was finality in her voice.

She stared at him a moment before deciding enough had been said. Scorpius didn't hold her back as she started to walk away again, stunned as he was.

There was a mixture of feelings flowing through him at that moment: giddy nervousness, disbelief, happiness and an irresistible desire to smile widely.

"Hey, there's a cupboard just a few paces ahead and snogging is fun!" he shouted after her, meaning only to make her look at him and tease her.

Rose only whirled around to give him a narrow-eyed look that clearly stated 'don't make me regret this' and kept going.

Scorpius yielded to a grin that showed nearly all his white teeth, before following her through the corridor and into the room of their Prefect meeting.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Sorry about the long delay, guys! I've been shifting from place to place, because I'm hunting for a room to rent near my Uni and... Well. I've been staying here and there with friends and haven't got internet regularly, so I don't write as often, since I normally do it in my email drafts.  
That piece of personal drama aside, I hope you had happy holidays and will have an awesome 2015! Thank you so much to anyone who favorited/followed and especially for the feedback (I'm not sure if I answered everyone's reviews, because sometimes I would see the message, but didn't get time to type one back... I'm sorry if that was the case, I assure you I appreciated every single one and you're welcome to complain about not getting an answer!)

This is not the date yet, but I'm hoping you will enjoy all the same.  
P.s: Sorry for any mistakes you may find, I didn't get time to read it over as thoroughly as I usually do.

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**4.**

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"Stop thrashing or I _will _put you into an induced comma, Malfoy," Rose hissed as she tended to a deep gash on his brow, a couple of days later.

"Well, that blue stuff you're putting on my head is making it sting, what did you expect!" Scorpius growled.

"You're lucky you're not Muggle-born, otherwise you'd be getting stitches, bandages and a lot of time in the infirmary instead. Would you prefer that?" he cringed at her harsh words and counted himself as one of the fortunate indeed.

"No," he mumbled, a lot quieter now.

"This 'blue stuff' - as you so elequently put it - is a strong brew of Wilhelmina Frey's potion for disinfecting and mending broken tissue and flesh. It has a numbing effect incorporated, which earlier potions lacked, so that sting is probably as bad as the pain will get from now on. In your case, I expect it to kick into full force in about six hours. There won't even be a scar left," Rose continued, rather too cheerful for his tastes.

"Thanks for the lesson on potion history, Weasley," Scorpius replied dryly. Rose cleansed the wound with a gauze and a sharp pain coursed through his head.

"Ow! Mind what you're doing, woman, do you want to kill me?" Scorpius gave her an annoyed look.

The right corner of her lips twitched upwards. "No. I want you to stop being a cry baby and thank me properly for helping you out."

"You're 'helping out'? It feels as though you're just cracking my skull open and putting me out of my misery," he scoffed.

Rose picked up another gauze impregnate with 'blue stuff' and pressed it tight against his head, making Scorpius hiss.

"I suggest you keep such comments to yourself. While I'm in a position to hurt you, anyway," she smiled sweetly, but he wasn't buying it. "Oh, c'mon Malfoy, you can't honestly tell me you expected a cut this deep to just heal painlessly," Rose shifted her eyes from the wound to his, raising an eyebrow.

"I suppose you're right. But when the Chudley Cannon's coach is watching you practice, you tend not to care as much if a bludger is chasing you. I got knocked off the broom after I'd just scored my seventh goal, so I guess it wasn't that bad," Scorpius informed her, with a cocky grin that turned to a grimace as she applied the medicine.

Rose snorted, but there was more amusement than derision behind it. "Should've known. Quidditch: giving healers something to do since Merlin knows how long," she put the gauze down and dipped a new one into the potion. Scorpius found that his pain was a lot worse, now that her hand and the potion had been removed. There were black spots in his vision and he felt dizzy. "You're trying out for a position, then? It's unusual for them to come and look at players who aren't graduating."

"Well, not exactly. They're actually here for Trent Flint," he explained. "But if I show potential, I might get a scholarship once I'm done with Hogwarts. It wouldn't be the first time they decided to give someone they weren't initially considering a chance. Then we'd see how things would work out. I'm not just gonna drop out," Scorpius winced as she pressed the gauze onto the wound again, but was silently grateful as his pain decreased significantly.

"Hmmm. I see. That's good, yeah? Keeping your options open. Are you applying for any other teams?" Rose seemed genuinely interested. Mostly she wanted to distract him from his current predicament and keep him actively speaking at the same time.

"Not really. I've been a fan of the Cannons since I was little. Dad doesn't care for Quidditch, but I had outside influence," Scorpius seemed entertained by some distant memory, a grin forming itself on his lips.

"That's surprising," Rose commented, eyes going slightly wide as she thought back to her own father, himself a faithful Cannons fan and a confessed apologist of keeping as little contact with the Malfoys as possible.

Who would have known the youngest of his nemesis' bloodline shared his colors when it came to the Quidditch field?

Rose wondered briefly whether this was the only common ground there was between them.

"Not a fan of the Cannons, then?" Scorpius asked, wondering if she even liked Quidditch.

"Dad only wishes. Holyhead Harpies through and through," Rose's grin was somewhat wolfish as she looked into his eyes. He laughed and regretted it almost instantly, as pain resurfaced.

"Your dad is into them?" he smiled lightly. "Hey, didn't your Aunt, Mrs. Potter I mean, used to play for the Harpies?" Scorpius added, not wanting the conversation to die down.

He was having a good time. Too bad he pretty much had to crack his skull open for it to happen.

"No, the Chudley Cannons are Dad's _religion_," Rose chuckled, shaking her head as she thought back to the moment when she had revealed herself a Harpies fan.

Her Aunt Ginny had been accused of misguiding her and got yelled at.

It did not end up well for Ron Weasley, though; Ginny Potter had feist and temper to best his any day.

"And yeah, she did, how did you know?" Rose's curiosity was spiked. "It's been ages since then! Barely anyone our age is aware of it," Scorpius thought the way she was looking at him was cute.

"I... uh," Scorpius stopped, panic rising as he realized he couldn't think of anything to say but the truth. Rose gave him a pointed look and he sighed, defeated. "Oh, fine, I read one of my Aunt's old Witch Weekly editions and there was an interview with her in which she mentioned it. Happy now you've emasculated me?"

Rose was stunned into a surprised silence for a few seconds.

Then she laughed. Hard. "No, but I'm wondering now if your earlier invitations to take me to Hogsmeade were actually your attempt at becoming my fashionably wise gay friend," her eyes watered with mirth at this point.

"Oh, so if a guy reads Witch Weekly, he's automatically gay?" scoffed an incensed Scorpius.

"It's called _Witch _Weekly; not Wizard. I think what that entails is pretty self-explanatory," she had stopped laughing, but her amusement didn't seem to die down.

"Well, yeah, but there are some interesting stuff in there. When you're really bored, that is. And I'm told it's halfway decent now that the magazine has a new director. Fleur something or other. She's french," he was trying to get himself out of the situation, but it felt like he was just digging a bigger hole to bury himself in.

"Fleur Delacour," Rose put in neutrally.

"A-ha! So you do read it?" Scorpius was a bit hopeful that she might let it go if she did.

"Merlin, no!" fat chance, then; she would never forget it. "Fleur's my aunt. She's married to my uncle Bill, but she kept her maiden name. It's very... _avant-garde_."

"Weasley, who aren't you related to?" her numerous family was something that had always somewhat puzzled him; Scorpius had only his parents, his grandparents, his aunt, uncle and a cousin to account for.

"A lot of people, but I do have a big family and I'm quite proud of it, so teasing me isn't going to make you feel better about reading Witch Weekly," she said in a singsong voice.

"I don't read Witch Weekly! I _read_ \- past tense, thank you very much - a bunch of them in a row, because I was bored and that was all the reading material other than geeky stuff that I could find at my Aunt and Uncle's summer house: vintage girly magazines," he paused and then started gesturing vigorously. "You bloody feminists! You demand equality and such, but then if a guy so much as goes through an article in a magazine supposedly directed exclusively towards females, he's obviously not straight! Well, how are men supposed to know what is on the female mind?" he argued, feeling the pain increase as he frowned.

"Relax, Malfoy! I'm only joking," she was enjoying the sight of him so thoroughly embarrassed.

Scorpius was altogether very annoyed and didn't say anything back, only letting out a grunt that indicated as much.

Rose applied a final ointment to his wound, critically examining the results. She seemed pleased as she wrapped up the curative.

"There, you big baby. All done. You'll need to stay here in the Infirmary tonight, but by tomorrow you'll be back to your dorm," she smiled at him.

"Seriously? But you said in six hours everything would be fine!" he whined.

"Yes, but Ms. Windmere will need to check on you every other hour and do a follow up in the morning to make sure everything is alright. I'll go call her right now, so she can assess whether I've solved the matter effectively," there was an unusual sort of shyness in her face and the tips of her ears turned pink.

"This is really important to you, isn't it?" he said suddenly, startling her out of the sort of daze she had put herself into while examining his head one last time, to make sure she had not forgotten any procedures.

"What?" she asked, not fully all the way down on Earth yet.

"This internship. You really want this. To be a Healer, I mean," she pushed him back, so he would lay against the pillows and rest.

"Yes," her voice was almost a whisper, but it was firm. "It's all I've ever wanted to do, since I can remember. I can't afford to screw up here or I'll never get into the St. Mungos Healing Programme," Rose paused, staring at the jar in her hand which contained the potion. "There are other Healing academies and programmes, but St. Mungos' is the best and I want it," her face lit up with the force of her determination and all uncertainty seemed to evaporate.

"I'm sure you will get it, Rose. You'll get anywhere you want. You're brilliant," Rose merely blinked owlishly, surprised at his use of her first name. A blush crept into her cheeks as she realized he was complimenting her.

_Rose Weasley doesn't _do _blushing. Stop it! _she chastised herself, only causing her blush to deepen further.

"I've got to... er, go find Ms. Windmere. You'll be fine for now, Malfoy?" she asked, avoiding his eyes.

"Yes. Are we still on for Saturday?" his tone was hopeful.

"If your head is okay by then," Rose smiled a little. "And the current Witch Weekly edition isn't keeping you overly busy," her smile shifted into a smirk, his own dripping from his lips.

"You have a death wish, Weasley," Scorpius narrowed his eyes at her menancingly, but she only laughed.

"No, but you will, if you take me somewhere boring on Saturday!"

He opened his mouth to say something, but she was already out of the room. Despite his annoyance at her teasing, Scorpius found himself smiling.


	5. Chapter 5

**5.**

* * *

"Do you have your invisibility cloak?" Scorpius asked her, after they met outside Gryffindor's common room and were going down the corridor on Saturday morning.

"What?" Rose's eyes widened slightly.

"Your invisibility cloak. Do you have it with you?" he glanced sideways at her as they walked. His feelings were entirely untraceable, but her face filled with astonishment.

"Erm, I don't have one," Rose said with utmost sincerity, but a guilty edge to it that made Scorpius realize there was more to it than she was letting on.

"Spill the beans, Weasley," he stopped in his tracks and by default so did she. "I know that's how you disappeared into thin air that night near the Forbidden Forest," she opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her short. "With Hogwarts's wards on you couldn't Apparate and besides you're not allowed yet, so save it. A Portkey doesn't seem likely either. It took me about three weeks to find out _what _it was you did, but it's the only reasonable explanation."

"Aw, three weeks? You were _that_ interested?" Rose bat her eyelashes at him in a mock display of bashfulness.

Scorpius smirked at her. "Yes. But don't change the subject. If not yours, whose was it, then?"

She sighed and resumed her pace, feeling more than slight annoyance at his cleverness. "I borrowed it. Who owns it is irrelevant."

"Was it Ms. Windmere's? She did send you on that errand. Or so you say," he added sharply.

"What is this, the bloody Spanish Inquisition? If this is your idea of fun, Malfoy, it's falling short," she told him bluntly, spinning to stare menancingly at him, despite their height difference and the four inch distance between them.

There was a rather awkward silence, as Rose kept glaring at him to the best of her efforts and he stood there, searching her face. At long last Scorpius tore his eyes away from hers.

"I'm sorry," he said. "It's just the invisibility cloak would come in handy. But we'll manage without it."

"You have no reason to doubt me, but I'm not telling you anything about that. So don't insist," she added in a calmer tone.

"But I've been dying to know what that business with the centaur was. You could at least tell me about that! I swear I'd never tell anyone," Scorpius stopped walking again, with a puppy look. Rose took a deep breath.

"The centaur and I are in love. We're going to elope together and have a merry big family of half horse, half wizard little creatures. Ms. Windmere didn't send me there, mad rabid lust did," she said all this in a dry tone of voice, while giving him a death glare with her hands on her hips.

Scorpius stood blinking stupidly at her and then burst into laughter, doubling over, as he envisioned the comical picture her words evoked. Despite herself, the corners of Rose's lips twitched upwards and she took a few strides ahead to disguise it.

"Okay, okay, I won't ask any other prying questions. Wait up for me!" he caught up with her. "You're funny, you know?" Scorpius smiled.

"Oh, yes, I'm hilarious. You've clearly been missing out!" despite the sarcasm, she half smiled as well.

"Clearly," Scorpius gave her a look that suggested he wasn't being sarcastic and tugged at the corner of her sleeve, making her feel nervous for some reason. "Lets go. If we're going to do this without magical cloaks, then we'd best hurry."

"Okay, I'm starting to feel a bit scared now. Is whatever we're doing allowed?" she raised an eyebrow at him.

He flashed her his best smile. "Technically, no. But oh, lets bend the rules a little."

Unlike her mother, Rose wasn't entirely pro-rules and only enforced them as a Prefect when she thought it was necessary. She felt a little thrill of excitement at the thought of doing something risky.

Plus, that tone in Scorpius's voice could convince anyone to do anything.

* * *

"We need to pretend like we're going off to Hogsmeade and then take a little detour," Scorpius informed her as he looked through the window, once they were inside the carriage, being pulled by the invisible Thestrals towards the wizarding village.

"Is this some scheme of yours to excuse the fact you couldn't find anything better for us to do?" Rose asked, suspicion dripping quite heavily from her tone.

"_Au contraire_, my dear Weasley. I have found plenty for us to do. But since we can't use the cloak, we'll need to resort to other methods to reach our first destination," his gaze was searching for something outside.

"A fieldtrip, is it? Lucky me, then," she teased, trying to figure out what he was looking for.

Scorpius grinned and finally tore his eyes away from the landscape.

"Oh, it's going to be completely out of the date box. _Alohomorra!_" Rose hadn't even noticed he had gotten his wand out before the door of the carriage burst open with a sudden movement that startled her. "We'll need to jump out here. No one will notice anyway, since the empty carriages go back and forth all the time to pick up and drop off new batches of students," and with that, he proceeded to drop down, albeit the fact the Thestrals had kept their steady and relatively fast rhythm.

She got up and poked her head through the door to see him standing as graciously as any feline, looking expectantly at her.

"You can't be serious?" she shouted as Scorpius started to run alongside the carriage, to keep up with the Thestrals.

"Aren't you the one who said you didn't want to be bored on our date?" he flashed her a grin.

"Yes, but I didn't mean to say I was an adrenaline junkie either, you mental case!" Rose hissed.

Scorpius opened his arms. "Come on, then. I'll catch you, don't be scared!"

Rose's inner stubborness kicked in full force at his presumption that she couldn't do it on her own. She was suddenly quite determined she would jump out of the damn carriage if it was the last thing Rose Evelynn Weasley ever did.

"I'm not a damsel in distress. Get out of the way!" her fierce tone told him he had better do as she said and Scorpius let himself fall behind.

Rose braced herself and dropped out, stumbling a little from momentum, but somehow still managing to stay upright.

"Now what?" she asked, brushing a few locks of hair out of her face and trying to regain composure.

"Into the woods. I've got a way of getting us out of here," Scorpius's grin was mildly unsettling as she tagged alongside him.

"Right. Forgot you're a sly and cunning Slytherin and shenanigans are right up your alley," she muttered. Scorpius took it more as a compliment than anything. He shook his head, amused, but didn't say anything else as they distanced themselves from the trail and walked into the shade of the trees.

_Merlin, the bloke walks fast! _

Rose was glad she was wearing her jeans and comfy boots. If she'd opted for less practical clothing, she'd be having trouble to keep up.

After about five minutes, he came to a stop at what she thought was a random spot.

"This is it," he said, looking up at her with a glint of excitement once he'd crouched by what, after examination, she determined was a soggy green sock.

"Your idea of fun is to take me on some sort of disgusting underwear sightseeing?" Rose raised an eyebrow at him.

"Don't be daft. This is a Portkey. We need to grab it and we can't let go until we're there," he explained, obviously enjoying the annoyance emmanating from the brunette who for once towered over him.

"Firstly, I know how Portkeys work and secondly, what in the world makes you think I'll touch_ that_?" she wrinkled her nose in distaste.

"It's designed to be unappealing. Do you think I want everybody using it?" Scorpius chuckled.

"Oh, yes, because there must be an awful lot of people coming to the middle of nowhere," the sarcasm she was giving off didn't seem to bother him.

"I'm sure you can handle touching a sock, seeing there's no other way right now of getting us where I want us, unless you want to get real close and personal and let me Side-Along Apparate you, which I wouldn't recommend. I'm not comfortable travelling for long distances yet, much less with a companion," he informed her, sounding a little smug.

"We're not supposed to take Apparition lessons until next year and... how the hell would you do that, if you're not of age?" Rose's irritation had vanished, completely replaced by curiosity and a little confusion.

"As of December, I _am_ of age," he smirked when he saw her eyes widen. "I asked Headmaster Longbottom and he agreed to let me take the Apparition lessons with the Seventh Years."

"That is... kind of amazing," Rose couldn't hide that she was impressed, but she was quick to change her expression when she saw how it seemed to inflate Scorpius's ego. "Are you still not telling me where we're going?"

"No. That would kind of defeat the purpose of surprising you, wouldn't it? Lets go, it's just a sock and it's never been worn, I promise," he snorted when she gave him a suspicious look, but crouched down beside him anyway.

* * *

Rose was used to Portkeys, so she didn't feel any discomfort beyond a light clenching of her stomach, which hardly resembled her initial reactions of nausea, lightheadedness and headache when she first tried it as a child. Glancing at the blond beside her once they'd landed, she noticed he seemed even more at ease than she was.

"So where exactly are we?" she asked, taking in her new surroundings.

They were standing outside an elegant looking building, but in the distance she could see high posts of what she presumed was a large Quidditch pitch. Rose frowned and looked at the sign above the door.

"Quiddball Adventure Park. What does Quiddball even_ mean_? I'm assuming there's some sort of relation to Quidditch, though," she turned to him, searching for his reassurance on her guess. Scorpius was staring at her to evaluate her reaction and grinned once he realized she still had no idea what they were doing there.

"You'll see soon enough. We have to check in and then put on some gear, but I promise you, this will be fun," he started walking towards the massive wooden doors, barely managing to restrain his excitement and she hesitantly followed him.

Whatever Malfoy was up to was probably no good, but Rose decided being curious just wasn't going to work. She _had_ to find out what was going on. She was Hermione's daughter, after all.

* * *

**A/N:** Guys, I have no excuse whatsoever. I have this nasty habit of losing track of time, but this was just unacceptable. To be honest, I've had most of this written down for quite some time. I just wanted their date to be really awesome, but was kind of stuck on pedestrian ideas. Hopefully, the few of you who might still care about this story will enjoy what have in store for next chapter... If there is anyone left *crickets singing in the background*

This is the first part of their date. It seemed like an awfully long chapter if I kept the whole thing together, so I split it in half where it made sense to me.

Any ideas on what Quiddball might be? (I do realize it's a silly name)

Yes, feel free to set your pet hienas on me and throw rotten tomatoes my way. I know I deserve it.

Thanks to everyone who was wonderful enough to leave me a review or show some appreciation by favoriting/following. As always, constructive criticism is welcomed.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Hey! So this chapter was a lot of fun to write and coming up with rules for Quiddball was very entertaining. I hope you like how it's all turned out. As always, a huge thanks to anyone who keeps supporting this story with reviews, follows and favorites. You guys are awesome!

Also, I sort of am not done with the date yet, if that's okay with you. I just thought writing everything I wanted in a single chapter would turn into something massive and I didn't want it to be overwhelming in comparison to previous chapters.

* * *

**6.**

They had signed up with a friendly girl named Felicia, with blue hair and a tatoo of a moving dragon on her shoulder that was fascinatingly life-like. The dragon distracted Rose from Felicia's explanations by constantly twirling around the girl's arm and up her neck, but by the time she had changed into a black outfit that made her feel slightly ninja-like (even though she knew real ninjas didn't wear black robes at all), she was feeling pretty excited about how her otherwise boring Saturday would turn out.

Quiddball was basically like muggle Paintball, except that it was done with a broom, involved some chasing after snitches and had other similarities to Quidditch. It was so popular Scorpius had actually needed to make a reservation prior to their trip and only caught an open spot because another team had cancelled at last minute.

The pitch, however, was not the usual wide space with high benches around it and the high posts were there more to limit the area of the game than anything else. There were tall trees in the middle, hiding places and a sort of Capture the Flag kind of vibe to it. She and Scorpius were teamed together and would compete against four other teams, who would have different starting points from theirs, but were equidistant to the main area of the strange Quiddball pitch.

Each team was assigned a snitch with a color that represented it and their main goal was to catch the other teams' snitches, before someone shot them more than twenty times each. The colors were: yellow, orange, red, green and blue. If the game wasn't finished within the hour, the suits would automatically erase the paint and the shot count would be reset.

When they took down a member of one of the other teams they earned 20 points and if they caught a snitch they were rewarded with 150 points. Catching their own snitch would cause a loss of 200 points.

The winning team would be invited to all special events hosted by the Quiddball Adventure Park, completely free of expenses and the second and third highest scoring teams would be able to participate in one of them.

Scorpius arrived shortly after her at their starting point, but she took the chance to mock him about not being able to keep up with her in any case. He just threw a glare her way, but it had no real heat. Scorpius seemed to be distracted with something.

"Have you done this before?" Rose asked, while they waited for the game to start.

"No, but my cousin mentioned it to me a while back and it sounded like a fantastic way to spend some quality time," he was staring ahead, searching for something.

"What are you looking for?" she found herself asking. Rose wouldn't admit it, not even to herself, but she had been sort of hoping Scorpius would be paying more attention to her than he was.

She would regret that particular thought not half a minute later.

"Didn't you notice that we have no brooms? Felicia said we had to find them first thing after the game starts, otherwise we'll be easy targets for the people who find their brooms quicker," Scorpius did glance at her then and seemed to notice for the first time how tightly fit the clothes were on her, compared to a traditional Quidditch set of robes or even her Hogwarts' uniform. Rose felt an urge to kick him as he unashamedly checked her out and she fought the impulse to fidget awkwardly or blush, since that would only make him more self-righteous than he already was.

Right as she was about to yell at him to stop acting like a pervert, reddened angry Weasley ears and all, the shots of colored smoke that indicated the game was on flew up into the sky, joining together at the top and forming a sort of dome. Rose was reminded of a giant circus tent, with what all the different colors, though this looked a lot less tacky.

They hadn't known which color would be assigned to them previously, but the smoke that came from right in front of them was green and a matching stripe appeared on the right sleeve of both uniforms. Rose noticed immediately that it resembled Slytherin's shade of green far too much and would have been upset, if an idea of how that would actually work in their favor hadn't struck her.

"I'm not so fond of this color, but since this _is_ a forest setting, I suppose it's for the best. Our snitch should be harder to find than that of the orange or red team, for instance," she reasoned, apparently coming to terms with it.

"Weasley, how good are you with a broom?" it hit Scorpius that he had never even considered that he should have asked her about that earlier.

The poorly concealed panic in his eyes, as they advanced into the trees in search of their brooms, had Rose thinking she shouldn't be worrying her team mate. She should to clarify that she could indeed fly a broom quite well.

Then again she couldn't really lose this chance to tease him. It was Malfoy she was dealing with, after all.

"Not very good, actually. I think I only picked up a broom twice in my life, in all honesty," she faked a nervous look and Scorpius paled slightly, absorbing the information with a sinking feeling. It escaped his notice that Rose was a terrible liar and was actively trying not to burst into laughter at his expression.

"I'm so sorry, I should have asked before bringing you out here. If you don't fly well, it won't be much fun for you," Scorpius shook his head at his own lack of foresight and felt like smacking himself. "Do you want to go back?" he asked seriously.

The sight he was met with was one of the petite Gryffindor half between amusement and feeling strangely like hugging him, but resisting the impulse. Scorpius had said he'd never tried Quiddball before, but decided to share that with her and even though he looked like he would be truly disappointed if they just quit, Scorpius seemed to be serious about walking away, should she choose to.

"I was just messing with you, Malfoy," she admitted, once she got over the random fit of affection. "I've been able to ride a broom since I was five. Growing up with enough cousins to form multiple Quidditch teams kind of entails that sort of education."

"You had me worried for a minute there. That was very Slytherin of you," he added, meaning it as a compliment, but only managing to make her narrow her eyes at him.

"If you say that one more time, I'll hex your eyeballs off," Rose hissed.

Scorpius chuckled, but since he didn't want the annoyed silence on her part to last long, he tried to distract her by asking Rose something that had gotten him curious. "Why didn't you ever apply for Gryffindor's team, though? Someone as experienced with flying should fit right in and half the team is Weasleys already, surely one more wouldn't hurt."

"The only position that I genuinely like to play was already filled when I was allowed to try out. Then when there was an opening this year, I guess I just let Albus keep the legendary Potter legacy without giving it a shot. I had enough on my plate, anyway, as is. Getting into Saint Mungos is higher up than Quidditch on my priority list," she shrugged.

As she walked, Rose caught a glimpse of the brooms underneath some twigs by a larger log and forgot about everything else in a second.

"Malfoy, there!" she ran towards the brooms and he followed not a fraction of a second later.

Felicia had enchanted their wands in such a way that they shouldn't be able to use them, unless they were in serious danger while participating in the game or to shoot the colored paint that served as ammunition.

Foul play was strongly frowned upon, but some people were willing to do anything to win. This included things as petty as the use of the 'Accio' spell to remove the brooms from all the other teams and extended to other nastier tricks. There had even been teams who went as far as stunning people off their brooms and causing injuries.

The owner of the Park was forced to take measures after a girl had to go to St. Mungus with severe head trauma, as the Ministry would work around a way to shut down the park should anything ever get that out of hand again.

Quiddball didn't have the Ministry's leniency enjoyed by Quidditch through its established traditional value in the wizarding community. New and possibly dangerous magical activities were very firmly objected to.

Rose and Scorpius picked up their brooms and instantly the color of their clothes shifted into a camouflage pattern, better suited to being less visible in their current environment.

"Ready?" Rose sounded excited and she could see a mirrored expression on Scorpius's face.

He nodded as they got up in the air. "Where do you think we should head first?"

She seemed to consider it for a second. "Possibly towards where the nearest shot of smoke came from. There's a chance they haven't found their brooms yet and we can shoot them while they're still on foot."

"Weasley, you're a girl after my own heart," Rose smiled slyly at him and they shifted slightly to the right, where they expected to find the yellow team.

Just as Rose seemed to have guessed, there were two figures bellow. They were still wearing completely black uniforms with a yellow stripe on their right arm and were walking around without paying much attention to anything above them. They were going in separate directions in search of their brooms. She made a stopping movement with her hand and Scorpius glided soundlessly through the air until they were side by side.

"I'll go catch that one by the big tree, you deal with the one by the blackberry bush, deal?" she whispered.

"Deal," he whispered back, amused at how focused she seemed to be on their targets.

It didn't take them very long to take out both of the yellow team's members, even though they came fairly close to being hit once or twice. Rose felt a little guilty that they hadn't even had a proper chance to play before being eliminated, but with adrenaline running through her and the high of her first victory, she didn't dwell long on that.

Scorpius suggested they should move a little closer to the center of the pitch and Rose agreed. They tried to stay close to the higher branches of the trees, without actually going above them, where other teams might see them if they went moved up.

"Blue snitch, cover for me or help me get it," Rose said before she rocketed off without further explanation. Scorpius didn't know how she'd managed to spot the elusive flying ball so quickly, especially since it was barely noticeable against the sky, but he'd seen it now too. Not one to watch the fun from the sidelines, he decided they could have a little competition between themselves.

He thought she'd be easy to catch up with, even though she'd had a head start, but she moved almost in sync with the movements of the snitch, going impossibly fast and inching closer and closer until she was practically grabbing it. Scorpius lagged behind, watching her move in a sort of fascinated daze.

Then he was hit with two orange paint shots and turned around to find two alarmingly bulky blokes, both grinning evilly as they shot more at him. One of them had the yellow snitch dangling at his side.

"Oh, c'mon, mates. Orange doesn't compliment my skin type at all!" he yelled, shooting back and dodging their offensive attacks to the best of his abilities. He really needed to distract them from the fact Rose was after the blue snitch higher up, something they hadn't seemed to notice yet.

Meanwhile, the snitch dropped when Rose touched it with her fingertips, but she wasn't deterred by it. She crossed her ankles to hold onto the broom, kept her hold with one hand and let her torso slide slightly down to catch it with her other hand.

When the tiny wings tickled her hand, she smiled broadly and straightened up on her broom, glancing down to check Scorpius's reaction, only to discover that he was being chased by the orange team. Rose secured the blue snitch to her belt with her wand as instructed by Felicia and then shot down to help Scorpius.

She hit one of the members of the opposite team with three green shots before he'd had time to see her coming. He growled and turned his attention to her, letting his team mate deal with Scorpius on his own.

Scorpius managed to move closer to where Rose was, struggling to avoid being shot and giving back with as much force. Rose understood what he was trying to do. If he was closer to her, maybe they would be able to have each other's backs and finish off at least one of their opponents together.

"Shit!" bellowed the guy who Rose was dealing with, once his gear was covered in green and Rose only needed to hit him a few more times to eliminate him, seeing as he'd already had five red shots on him when she started to hit him. "Thompson, lets go!" he ducked one of her hits.

"No way, Harrison, I'm going to finish this one!" yelled back the other guy, as he and Scorpius flew back and forth, shooting each other. Scorpius narrowly missed his hits most of the time, but there was quite a lot of orange dots on him after a while. He'd been facing them alone for a few minutes, which hadn't helped.

"What's the matter? Afraid you'll get beaten by a girl?" Rose teased, managing to hit him one more time.

Scorpius sensed the guy was on the edge of being eliminated and decided to help Rose finish him off. They both shot at the one supposedly called Harrison. The orange stripe on his arm expanded when he tried to hit them back and trapped his arms, so he couldn't move and then he apparated with a loud _pop_. That's what had happened to the yellow team once they'd beat them.

They both turned on Thompson who started to fly off, opting for an escape strategy now that he was outnumbered. As both Rose and Scorpius prepared to fly after him, two blue shots hit the orange team's last standing member.

"Weasley, lets go. We can't face these guys right now. Lets go find one of the hiding spots and wait for the reset, otherwise we're doomed!" his eyes widened as they watched the blue team's attack from afar.

"Alright, you seem to have been hit quite a lot and they barely have any dots on them," Rose agreed reluctantly.

The Gryffindor inside protested that they should fight, but her rational mind acknoweldged their chances of winning against the blue team were slimmer.

They flew in the opposite direction of the blue team as fast as the brooms would allow and spotted a large mass of rocks, surrounded by thick bushes. Upon investigation, they discovered the entrance to a small cave that was well hidden and would allow them to wait for their suits to reset.

"How long do you reckon it's going to take?" Rose asked in a whisper, once they were descending into the cave and going further in, so as not to be seen if anyone poked their head in.

"About fifteen minutes. We've been playing for quite some time," his answer came from somewhere behind her.

They settled in the back, behind another big rock. There were tiny holes in the cave that let some light stream in, so they could see each other well. Rose decided to run through the info they had about the game so far.

"Lets see. We saw that the orange team had red dots on them, so they must have ran into the red team. It's possible that they eliminated one or both of the team members, but we can't know for sure. They also had the yellow snitch with them, so we can scratch that one off our list," she hesitated. "What else do we know?"

"We took out the yellow team and one of the orange members. The blue team probably took out the other one. So that leaves us, the blue team and possibly one or both members from red, as you said," Scorpius put in.

"And as far as we know, there are still three snitches flying around, though only two of them are our concern," Rose finished.

"Those odds are not bad, if we manage to stay here until we're reset," he leaned against the rock. There wasn't enough room for them to sit, but they had better coverage behind it.

"Don't forget they will also have been reset by the time we get out. We must be careful, so we're not hit first."

"Of course," he nodded. "Do you want to lean too? I can scoot over a little. You don't need to stand like that," he smiled invitingly.

Rose looked at him suspiciously, but he didn't seem to have an agenda, so she leaned by his side and eased her weight off her feet.

"So, Weasley, thoughts on Quiddball?" he asked after a couple of minutes, turning ever so slightly to better look at her.

"I can't believe I didn't know about it sooner. It's so much fun!" she almost raised her voice enough to make an echo and promptly covered her mouth. When after a minute no one barged into the cave shouting and shooting, she relaxed. "Thanks for bringing me here, Malfoy," Rose looked up to smile at him.

"My pleasure," he grinned sideways.

They were only a few inches apart and suddenly aware of how close they were standing, with their arms brushing each other's.

The eye contact wasn't helping Rose's heart. She felt like she'd melt if stared at her like that one more moment. She looked away, lest she'd forget that she wasn't meant to be letting him get to her.

He raptly watched her bite her lip hard and since he wasn't moving, she turned back to him. They held each other's gaze again.

Rose's patience exploded.

"Oh, bloody hell," Rose said, before putting her arm around his neck and cupping his cheek with her other hand, to bring his lips down to hers. Scorpius was taken aback by her boldness and for a couple of seconds didn't manage to react.

Rose decided that kissing him had been a bad idea, if the way he was being irresponsive was any indication. Her legs seemed to be giving out, but she pushed off him and stumbled slightly, facing away from him.

"Sorry," she mumbled, utterly embarrassed.

He lunged for her then, turned her to face him and pressed her against the rock, with his hands on either side of her head to steady himself. Her legs weren't the only ones that were struggling.

"Don't you _dare _be sorry," and this time, it was him who closed the gap between them, putting his hand at the nape of her neck and grabbing her hair, returning her kiss as hungrily as she did his.


End file.
